Meet the ADC Faculty

Charlotte Foster Williamson
Owner & Studio Director

Graduating Magna Cum Laude from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Dance, Charlotte Foster Williamson opened Atlanta Dance Central in 2009. She founded non-profit dance company, SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company in 2006 and currently serves as the Artistic/Executive Director. In 2007, she founded the Foster-Schmidt Dance Academy for Down Syndrome with Vince Schmidt, eventually expanding this program at Atlanta Dance Central to include three levels of classes and a dance company. Recently, Charlotte worked at the Atlantic Center for the Arts as the choreographer for the Luigi Project. Her work, Being (Interpretations of Interpretations), represented the University of Georgia at the American College Dance Festival in March 2006, where it received impressive feedback from noteworthy dance professionals: Ann Reinking, Steve Rooks, and Wendy Perron. Of 48 pieces submitted, Being was one of 10 selected to be performed at the Gala Showcase. Her work was presented at University of Georgia’s Center for Undergraduate Research Organization Conference (CURO) and featured in the University of Georgia’s Journal of Undergraduate Research (JURO). Knowbody, a piece created in 2007 specifically for SIDEWAYS, toured to New York where it was recognized by current TV choreographers, Mia Michaels and Brian Freidman. Michaels deemed the piece “timeless” and commented on the honesty of both the choreography and the performers, a trait that Foster demands from her dancers. Before moving to Athens in 2004, Foster attended the University of Florida, where she pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance. While in Gainesville, she was chosen to be a member of the University of Florida Dance Team; the Dazzlers. She also choreographed three full-length musicals, and eventually founded and directed her own jazz dance company, entitled Extreme Dance Company. Throughout the past ten years, Charlotte has taught jazz, modern, tap, ballet, kinder dance, musical theatre, lyrical, hip hop, and voice. Her students range from age two to adult. She is currently developing a syllabus for her Foster-Schmidt programming that she plans to share with other dance studios who want to start a program for students with Down syndrome. Atlanta Dance Central will be included in the Bulldog 100 for 2016, as one of the fastest growing businesses owned by a UGA graduate.

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Mary Ann Staib
Dance Faculty

Mary Ann Staib loves sharing the elegance, discipline, and history of classical ballet with her students at Atlanta Dance Central and has reconstructed excerpts from select ballets including Paquita, The Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, and Don Quixote for the Atlanta Rising Talent Dance Company. Early influences and classical ballet tutelage from Magdalena Maury School of Classical Ballet contributed to earning the distinguished 1999 Lucy Lampkin dance scholarship while pursuing her BSEd with certification (2003) from the University of Georgia where she studied ballet, as well as modern and ballroom dance. As a member of the UGA Ballet Ensemble (and post-graduation director’s assistant and production coordinator), Mary Ann danced soloist and corps de ballet roles in many classical ballets including La Bayadere, Giselle, Swan Lake, Paquita, The Nutcracker, Graduation Ball, Le Grand Pas de Quatre, Konservatoriet, Coppélia, and The Firebird. While her passion remains with the classical ballet idiom, she also enjoys exploring the Bartenieff Fundamentals with her modern students and teaching ballroom lessons for those who are in pursuit of social dancing. Though she has received ballroom dance training from Georgia instructors, she credits much of her education to Brigham Young University’s celebrated summer ballroom dance program, where she studied under world-renowned ballroom dance champions Michael Mead and Toni Redpath, Alain Doucet and Anik Jolicoeur, as well as James and Jaana Kunitz. Mary Ann is a current member of SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company, a professional company based out of Atlanta, GA, and has also created choreography for SIDEWAYS.

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Jeremy Williamson
Dance Faculty

Jeremy began dancing in college with UGA’s Ballroom Performance Group and also performed with the UGA Ballet Ensemble and in the Young Choreographers Series shows. After graduation, he performed with Contact Dance Theatre and as a guest performer with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company in their first major concert. He joined SIDEWAYS the following season and has been dancing with them ever since, training in ballet, jazz, and modern dance. Jeremy played sports all his life and began studying fitness and conditioning in college. Jeremy has been participating in CrossFit for 3 years, and is now a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer. He believes that strength and conditioning has been an integral part of his dance training and is a great benefit to all dancers. By strengthening their bodies, creating more body awareness, and understanding their limits he believes that all dancers can better themselves in their dance technique and partnering skills and be more prepared for rigorous technique classes and performances.

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Leah Kelly
Dance Faculty

Leah began her  pre-professional dance training at the British Academy of Performing Arts and furthered her abilities at Valdosta State University. There she received a bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance and a bachelor’s of Business Administration. At the University Leah was fortunate enough to dance in annual dance concerts and multiple dance festivals. Such festivals include SOMAfest NYC 2013 with Professor Catherine A. Schaeffer, New Grounds Festival 2013 with Critical Mass Dance Company and the M.A.D. Festival 2014 with SWADance Collective. You will currently find Leah teaching Modern, Jazz, and Hip Hop at Atlanta Dance Central in Roswell, GA and dancing throughout the Atlanta area. Leah has been dancing with SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company since 2015.  In summer of  2016, Leah was invited to join Fuerta Dance Company for one of their many short dance films “ID”.  Leah is excited to be joining Fuerta again for another great season and is excited to be teaching at Atlanta Dance Central this year!

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Audrey Crabtree
Dance Faculty

Audrey holds a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree in Dance Performance from the School of American Dance and Arts Management at Oklahoma City University. Her work includes the theme park stages of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Six Flags Magic Mountain dancing at Howl-O-Scream, Christmastown, Looney Tunes Kids Club, Fright Fest, and Holiday in the Park. Living in Los Angeles, Audrey performed with L.A. Unbound, the Speak Hill Dance Project, City Ballet of Los Angeles, Amaterasu Dance Company, and J Sutta in her music video Forever. Audrey is now performing with Atlanta-based Fuerta Dance Company and SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company, and teaching at Atlanta Dance Central.

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Michelle Mattox
Dance Faculty

Michelle Mattox was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama. While growing up, summers were spent on scholarship with American Ballet Theatre, Paul Taylor, Boston Ballet, and International Ballet Academy (London). Having graduated high school at age 15, she left home to attend college at The Boston Conservatory. There she studied on scholarship (including receiving the AnaMarie Sarazin Award twice) and received her BFA in Ballet and Modern. She has danced with the Boston Dance Theatre, Winchester Ballet, Alabama Ballet, City Ballet of San Diego, American Contemporary Ballet, and Arova Contemporary Ballet. In theatre she has either performed, choreographed, or worked backstage in many productions including Oliver!, The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, A Chorus Line, Crazy for you, Annie, The Wizard of Oz, Hello Dolly, and Snoopy. She has performed on all the major television networks (ABC, CBS, NBC). Stiletto Entertainment hired her to work on Holland America Cruise Lines taking her to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and Alaska. Throughout the years, she has won 15 first place trophies from competitions across the U.S. and performed in such venues as The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Six Flags, DisneyWorld, Opryland, “Top Floor” (Boston Ballet), among many others. Her choreography won her a third place recognition in a nationwide competition. She is happy to call Atlanta, GA her home.

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Kaitlin Davis
Dance Faculty

Kaitlin Davis was born in Wilmington, North Carolina and danced competitively for eleven years before attending East Carolina University. She received a BFA in Dance Performance and the Outstanding Senior in Dance Performance Award in Spring 2014. While at ECU she studied under Teal Darkenwald, John Dixon, Tommi Galaska, Dirk Lumbard, Galina Panova, Clarine Powell, and Patti Weeks. She performed in three of the Dance mainstage productions in her time there as well as numerous smaller shows. In 2011 she choreographed for the NBC film “Gametime: Tackling the Past” in which she was also a featured dancer. Davis has also danced as part of the Cucalorus Film Festival, Forward Motion Dance Company, and Opera House Theater Company. Her choreography was showcased in the music video “Party Girl” for up and coming artist Mary Simmons in 2016. She has taught students of all ages in several studios in the Wilmington area and was an instructor at the ECU Summer Jazz Dance Intensive in 2013. She is a part of SIDEWAYS Contemporary Dance Company, Atlanta Dance Collective, and a dancer for Stella Entertainment.

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Jenna Gamerl

Dance Faculty

Jenna Lorson Gamerl has a profound interest in the arts and dance, both on and off the stage. Raised in the small town of Hughesville, PA, Jenna knew she wanted to pursue dance at a very young age. She continued her education at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, graduating with a BFA in Dance Education and minor in Musical Theater. She immediately joined the National Tour of Sesame Street Live, performing the role of Ernie as well as a Live India Dancer. After two years of touring across the United States, Jenna stepped out of performing and into a new role as Performance Director. She joined the new season of Sesame Street/USO Experience for Military Families and was able to take a Sesame Street show onto military installations for these families. For Jenna, there is no better reward than being able to serve those families who serve our country. Alongside Sesame Street, Jenna is a judge for Starbound National Talent Competition and now teaches and dances in the greater Atlanta area.